And So It Begins
by Endertwinkletoes
Summary: Harry Potter has lived 36 lives and each time seems to get hooked into a position under the one and only Albus (too-many-middle-names) Dumbledore. He decides to liven things up a bit and this time when he is reborn, it is with a (reluctant) Tom Riddle and a (way-too-excited-to-be-good) Gellert Grindelwald. And God dammit if he lets 'dear old Dumbles' get the better of him.
1. The Beginning

**Harry stood in the all too familiar Kings Cross Station yet again. How he hated this. Knowing everything that would happen. Knowing everything, the pain, the grief, and yet… every time just stood by and let it happen. Let Voldemort kill his loved ones. Let Voldemort rip the world apart. Standing there in Kings Cross station, Harry made a vow; to never let it happen again.**

 **Sighing, Harry unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck and walked over to a small table. Seeing the parchment and the quill, he scrawled '1985' He tucked the parchment into his robes and walked over to Death's office. Peeking his head in, he saw the hooded figure sitting at his desk waiting.**

" **Chosen your time, have you?"**

" **Yeah." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "Is, is it possible for me to bring someone back with me? Sir?"**

" **Who in particular?" If Death actually had a face, Harry would've sworn he heard a smile on his lips.**

" **Err… Tom?"**

" **Tom? I'm afraid too say you have to be more specific than that. I must of taken thousands of Tom's."**

" **Tom Riddle Jr and Gellert Grindelwald."**

" **This should be entertaining." Death said dryly.**

" **So, can I?" Harry asked, nervously.**

" **I just said that, didn't I?" He huffed and said scathing "** _ **Master.**_ "

" **You didn't actually." Harry smirked and added, "** _ **Sir.**_ "

 **Death huffed and muttered something along the lines of 'Cheeky brat.' The twat in question just grinned. The hooded figure clicked his fingers and both Voldemort and Grindelwald popped in the study. Voldemort seemed torn between assaulting Harry and asking him what was happening. Grindelwald was watching Voldemort with a big grin on his face.**

" **Come the niceties must be observed… bow to death, Tom." Harry finally said, reveling in the glory of saying that. Voldemort glared but said nothing, obviously realising Harry was his only chance of ever living again. Death arched an eyebrow -is that possible?- and said:**

" **I have an opportunity for you three; Tom Riddle, Gellert Grindelwald, Harry Potter."**


	2. A Rebirthing

" **So let me get this straight. We are going to be reborn as five year olds in 1985, go to Hogwarts at the age of six because we accidently-on-purpose got lost in London and stumbled across the Leaky Cauldron, and make Dumbledore's life a living hell." Grindelwald summed up. Tom crossed his arms, face unreadable. Gellert didn't even let Harry say anything before he said, "Count me in."**

 **Tom hesitated, but did say, "Me too." Then he frowned and said, "I guess there is no point trying to kill you and rule the world again, is there? Dammit."**

 **Harry nodded curtly before turning to Death and asking, "Could you take us back now?"**

 **King's Cross vanished in the blink of an eye.**

" **Up! Get up! Now!"**

 **Harry winced. He'd forgotten how shrill her voice was. "Coming Aunt Petunia!" he called back. He looked around half expecting Tom or Gellert to be there, but immediately chastised himself. Of course they wouldn't be. They would probably be at a local orphanage or something. Groaning softly, he stood and walked to the kitchen, not even flinching when Dudley rammed into him and then yelled at him for tripping him up.**

 **(A/N: At school, lunchtime.)**

" **Oy! Harry!"**

 **Harry looked up to see Gellert dragging Tom over to him.**

" **What do you plan to do in the meantime? Before you turn six that is."**

" **I turn six in two days! That's not long to wait!"**

 **Tom eyed Harry as if he expected him to jump up and slide a dagger into his back.**

" **You don't look almost six. You look like a four-year-old." Tom finally said, still eyeing Harry winced. "I know. I was abused and malnourished by my relatives until I got my letter. Then they wouldn't stay in the same room as me. They despised me."**

" **Oh." Was all Tom could say.**

" **Bet you thought I was spoilt and showered with gifts everyday. Snape must of at least reported that before summer, I always begged Dumbledore to let me stay somewhere else. No? I know before I went to Hogwarts he thought I was pampered, but didn't he connect the dots? That I always came back skinny? Really short for my age? Scars on my back? Sometimes coming back and going straight to the hospital? Always not telling anyone about why I had to do that? Always clammed up when he talked about my home life? Or at least noticed I hated my fame? But did he? No. Because he was holding a schoolboy grudge against my father and so therefore because I looked like him, I must be every inch the arrogant prat my father was."**

 **Tom looked stunned and Grindelwald usual smile was nowhere to be seen.**

" **You were just like me. We were both half- bloods. Orphans cast away. Both felt like Hogwarts was our home, our savior. Both famous within the castle for some reason or the other. Both treated like dirt until we got our letter. And yet… somehow we were enemies. I didn't get it until I learnt of the prophecy." Harry said, feeling the need to get this off his chest. "Dumbledore made up the prophecy. He staged it. He always held interviews in his office. Didn't you find it strange that the one time he held an interview in the Hog's Head it was a seer prophesying your doom?"**

 **Harry shook his head and sighed. They sat in silence for a couple minutes until Dudley swaggered up, his friends/bullies in tow. "Looky here, the freak has got some friends. Do they know how freaky you are, weirdo? Or are they freaks too?"**

 **To Dudley surprise, Harry just laughed. Dudley kinda just insulted three of the four most powerful wizards alive! And he didn't even realise! "Boys, I think we've earned ourselves a game of three-freak-hunt!" Dudley sneered at Harry, who was still laughing. "We'll be so kind as to give you freaks a head start."**

" **Me? A head start? Sounds more like you need a head start."**

 **This time it was Gellert who spoke, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.**

 **(Dudley POV:)**

 **Dudley obviously took this act as a scared one and cracked his knuckles threateningly. "10, 9, 8, … 3, 2, 1!"**

 **Confused, he took in the scene around. Harry was doubled up, laughing, the blonde boy (Gellert) was trying to stifle his laughter, to no avail, and the dark haired one (Tom) was watching his friends (if you could call them that) with a raised eyebrow. Why weren't they afraid?**


	3. Now that is settled

**Harry winced as he walked (hobbled more like it) across the street. The beating last night was the worst in a long time. It had been pure willpower that allowed him to stand. He was not looking forward to seeing Tom or Gellert. Even though they had become more friendly over the first few days, he didn't know how they would take this. Whether they would taunt him about not being able to defend himself against a overweight muggle or help him get to class and such. He wasn't even sure if he could face Ron or Hermione at this point.**

 **He somehow managed to avoid Dudley and his gang for the rest of the day but even Dumbledore wouldn't be able to avoid Riddle and Grindelwald completely. The entire day he could feel their eyes searing holes on the back of his head. They managed to catch up to him as he was walking 'home' from school.**

" **Why're you hurt?" Grindelwald said bluntly.**

 **Tom glared at Gellert and said, "What he means to say Harry, is this; why have you been avoiding us? You thought we wouldn't notice your limp? I grew up in a non- child supportive environment so I can easily spot child abuse. I know it wasn't a child, bully or not, who did this to you so don't even bother denying," He added when Harry opened his mouth to protest. "Besides what you said to us yesterday didn't go in one ear and out the other. We were suspecting it already and this just confirms it."**

" **I thought you would call me weak." Harry admitted meekly.**

" **You aren't weak, Potter. Your five-year old abused body just isn't suitable for standing up to that fat walrus. And anyway, if I know Gryffindors, the reason you didn't stand up to them using magic is because you're too noble and honorable to use a weapon you knew they couldn't defend against." Grindelwald offered. "What I don't get is why you didn't just heal your wounds magically."**

" **The beatings are worse if he sees that I just magicked them away." Harry replied stiffly; he didn't like opening up and showing others weakness. Especially if those 'others' are your formally worst enemies. "Besides, if we show as poor orphans beaten and starved, but magically enhanced, one the savior of the wizarding world, they'd be more susceptible to us going to Hogwarts early? It'll be easier later on if we manage to wow them earlier rather than later."**

" **Okay, sounds good, but I vote me and Tommy here," (Tom scowled) "keep looking like this. It'll be more of a shock to Dumbledore, especially if he 'overhears' us talking about 'The Greater Good' or the 'The Deathly Hallows'" Gellert grinned. "No-one but Albus knows what I looked like or what we exchanged ideas about over the summer. I could even make some comments about Arianna."**

" **He really chewed himself up about that. When we were destroying horcruxes and he drank that potion Tom made, he remembered that battle. He was begging you not to hurt her. And when he looked into the Mirror of Erised he saw her. One lifetime the last thing he said to me was: 'I'm not afraid of death because I know I'll see my loved ones again.'"**

" **The potion made you recall your worst experience." Tom remembered.**

 **Grindelwald bowed his head. There was silence for a few moments before Gellert clapped his hands together and said "Now that's over we should figure out how we should 'stumble' across the wizarding world."**


End file.
